UCL JILL DANDO INSTITUTE OF CRIME SCIENCE WEST MIDLANDS CRIME SCIENCE LABORATORY Cross cutting issues in violence: results from the TVCP tranche 3 problem profiles Amy Burrell April 2007 Contact: Amy Burrell JDI Crime Science Laboratory [email protected] Table of Contents 1 Executive Summary......................................................................................................3 2 Introduction...................................................................................................................8 2.1 Purpose of the Tackling Violent Crime Programme (TVCP) .......................... 8 2.2 Focus of the TVCP......................................................................................... 8 2.3 TVCP areas ................................................................................................... 9 3 Methodology .................................................................................................................9 4 Format of the profiles..................................................................................................10 5 Violence......................................................................................................................11 5.1 What is counted as violent crime? ................................................................11 5.2 Data used .....................................................................................................12 5.3 Time frame considered .................................................................................13 5.4 Offences .......................................................................................................13 5.5 Location ........................................................................................................19 5.6 Timing ...........................................................................................................25 5.7 Victims ..........................................................................................................27 5.8 Offenders ......................................................................................................30 5.9 Responses....................................................................................................33 6 Alcohol-related offences and the Night-time Economy ...............................................43 6.1 Alcohol related offences – all violence ..........................................................45 6.2 Alcohol-related domestic violence.................................................................47 7 Domestic Violence......................................................................................................48 7.1 Defining domestic violence and extracting relevant incidents for analysis ....48 7.2 Offences .......................................................................................................49 7.3 Location ........................................................................................................51 1 7.4 Timing ...........................................................................................................53 7.5 Victims ..........................................................................................................53 7.6 Offenders ......................................................................................................56 7.7 Repeat Victimisation (RV).............................................................................59 7.8 Responses....................................................................................................61 8 Summary and conclusions..........................................................................................66 9 References .................................................................................................................66 10 Glossary of terms .....................................................................................................67 2 1 Executive Summary This report aims to provide an overview of cross cutting issues in violence as identified by problem profiles submitted to the Police Standards Unit under tranche 3 of the Tackling Violent Crime Programme (TVCP). This section provides a summary of the key findings. • It is difficult to accurately identify alcohol-related crime, and evidence is often anecdotal. • The results of the profiles are not directly comparable. This was because the definitions of violence, the level of data used, the timeframe, and the types of analyses conducted varied across the areas. • All of the profiles considered recorded crime, and some incorporated data sourced from the ambulance service, the British Transport Police, street wardens, fear of crime surveys, deprivation indices and CCTV. Trends in violent crime • Recorded violent crime comprises of three main offence groups; violence against the person (VAP (87%)), robbery (8%) and sexual offences (5%) (Walker et al, 2006). • These profiles show different trends; for example, Lewisham reported 77% of recorded violent crime to be VAP, 20% to be robbery and 3% sexual offences. • The percentage of total crime attributable to violent offending varies between areas; most commonly between 20% and 30% of total crime. • Nine areas reported recent increases in violent crime, whilst three areas reported an overall downward trend. • Actual Bodily Harm (ABH) is commonly the peak offence but public order, harassment, common assault and Grievous Bodily Harm (GBH) also feature. • Leicester reported that robbery offences in the city generally fell into one of three categories; 1. children on children offences outside school or in open recreational areas in the early afternoon, 2. groups of males preying on a lone person walking home from school or work in the evening, and 3. a single male offender targeting a drunk victim walking home from the city centre alone at night. • Property most likely to be stolen in a robbery were mobile phones, cash, bankcards and handbags (City & Holbeck). • 94% of reported robberies were personal in nature (Waltham Forest). • Knives are the most common weapon used in violent crime (Birmingham D3 and Waltham Forest). • Firearms are used infrequently in violent crime however offenders are becoming more willing to use them (Birmingham D3). 3 • People are becoming more willing to carry and threaten others with coshes, sticks and batons but that they do not necessarily use them (Birmingham D3). • There is a relatively high rate for use of bricks and stones (and the willingness to use them), reflecting the availability of such weapons (Birmingham D3). • All assaults with a weapon presented at Leeds General Infirmary reported involved a glass or bottle. • It was also noted that 40% patients had not reported the assault to police. • Town and city centres are hotspots for violence, however residential clusters also emerged. • Top areas for calls for service and crime in centres are often associated with the night-time economy. • Problems in residential areas are often linked to deprivation, ASB and fighting amongst young people. • Types of premises highlighted as problematic in relation to violence include licensed premises, hospitals, schools and public transport hubs. • Violence associated with licensed premises clusters on weekend evenings. • There are links between the increase in the number of people congregating in an area and a rise in disorder and/or violent crime. • Hotspots for recorded crime and ambulance call-outs are synonymous and show a correlation between violent crime and licensed premises; violent crime hotspots correspond with those areas with the greatest numbers of licensed premises. • Peak times; weekday afternoons (3-5pm) associated with schools and busy commuter times, and weekend evenings associated with the night-time economy. • Violent crime peaks over the summer months. • Football, particularly the World Cup 2006, was suggested to be a contributory factor to violence. • Young people are overrepresented as both offenders and victims of violent crime. • Males were only overrepresented as victims in four profiles, and five areas reported an even split between the sexes. Males were, however, overrepresented as offenders. • The ethnicity of victims generally reflects the ethnic breakdown of the local population; however some areas note an overrepresentation of ethnic minorities. • Ethnic minorities, especially Afro-Caribbean’s and Asians are overrepresented as violent crime offenders. • Youth crime and gang culture was highlighted as a factor in some areas. • Stranger and acquaintance assaults remain a problem especially in night-time economy related incidents. • One of the primary issues in relation to violence in town and city centres is the dispersal of revellers at the end of the night. Methods of dealing with this include the use of taxi marshals to monitor queues, the re-location of taxi ranks, and increasing the availability of late-night public transport. 4 • Some areas advocated the use of “alcohol restriction zones” to reduce access to alcohol and the harm associated with it. • Early intervention; arrests for Drunk & Disorderly offences is reportedly having an impact on public order and assault figures (Leicester). • Offender based interventions included the use of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs), Acceptable Behaviour Contracts (ABCs) and drinking banning orders. Targeting young offenders, boosting awareness of release dates for prolific offenders and using council powers to evict recidivist offenders